Sometimes, we see accidents occur on a massive scale. They can be due to a malfunction or a wrong reading. If we take a look at Chernobyl, that was also a form of accident. Their safety measure is what caused the RBMK reactor to explode. Similarly, the Gulf of Mexico sees quite a lot of accidents and eruptions each year. These are either due to malfunctions on oil rigs or gas leaks in pipelines.
These accidents can, sometimes, amount to a great scale and that causes even more problems. In such a case, one cannot imagine how dire the situation can really get. It is tricky to maintain underwater pipelines and even trickier to correct them. If a leak does occur, it has to be fixed in as short a time as possible otherwise disaster strikes. However, on the Gulf of Mexico not too long ago, a gas leak occurred.
Mexico Gulf And The Leak
According to sources, there was a gas leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The leak itself occurred in an underwater gas pipeline. Within minutes, the entire area erupted into flames as the gas caught the atmosphere. The situation escalated quite fast and emergency response teams had to be called in. In such times, the entire area is cleared of ships and the sole focus is the fire.
Due to a continuous stream of gas leaking, the fire kept on going for a while. One might get surprised how water can catch fire. However, it is not the body of water that comes in contact with fire. Due to the gas being less dense, it rises to the surface and stays there. The stream of gas kept fueling the fire once it had erupted.
Disasters On Water
Among all this, they have also stated that the fire has also helped the situation a bit. While the methane leaking can be problematic, too much methane can be an even bigger issue. The fire consumed hydrocarbons from the atmosphere and the water, containing the possibility of more damage. It has been reported that company workers used nitrogen to control the fire spread.
However, the good news is that the fire has finally been put out. It was one scary experience but the situation has been handled well. The company has said that they will look into the cause of it. This means that a formal investigation will be launched and the pipeline will be checked. There must be gauges on the pipeline that can tell us what happened.
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